“You know it.”
I hung up as someone knocked on Samael’s door. Vas strolled in, nodded at both of us, and poured himself a coffee. “You needed me?” he asked Samael.
Samael filled him in, and within a few minutes, we were all soaring through the air, Samael’s arms around me, while Vas carried Evie.
I needed a moment alone with Evie to warn her not to tell Samael that Harriette was partly responsible for the suppression spell that had been placed on my power. The spell offended Samael on a deep, primal level, and while it crumbled more every day, the demon wasn’t the forgive and forget type.
If I wanted Harriette to stay alive, Samael couldn’t know she’d been part of the decision— and execution— of that spell.
I felt a little bad as we landed outside Harriette’s house. She’d always been terrified of demons, and some of that was likely thanks to the fact that if they’d ever found out that she’d helped my mom hide me from them, she would have been in deep shit.
I knocked on the door. No answer. Samael merely raised a hand and the door flew open.
“What the hell?” I demanded.
He ignored me, and I followed his gaze.
“Oh fuck.”
Evie retched, and I barely suppressed the urge to do the same. We wouldn’t be getting any answers out of Harriette.
She was hanging from her glittery chandelier, the soft light from the stained-glass windows turning her body into a gruesome display.
She hadn’t died quickly. Deep scratches surrounded the rope that had been used to hang her, and even amongst the dark purple of her face, it was easy to see she’d been tortured.
My gaze was drawn to a pile ofsomethingbeneath her body and it was my turn to heave.
Her eyes and her tongue. The message was clear.
Samael’s face was hard. “This is a crime scene. The light fae will want to send their own investigators to look for prints and other evidence.”
He was right. Like every other paranormal faction, the light fae were extremely territorial. They wouldn’t thank us for poking our noses into this without asking. I’d ask Mariam if she could keep me updated.
I took a final glance around, my heart heavy. I hadn’t particularly liked Harriette, or her way of dancing around the truth and only giving me half of the information I needed at any one time. But she’d been our only real tie to our mom.
We waited outside Harriette’s house until a seelie team arrived. They were all dressed in white, and the guy in charge had long hair the exact shade as his shirt. His expression was placid as he approached Samael.
“My name is Aitri. I understand you found the body. We may need to contact you both for a statement depending on what we find,” he said.
Samael nodded and glanced at Vas, who gave Aitri a card. We watched as one of the fae stood in the doorway and lifted her hands, her body stiff.
“What’s she doing?” Evie asked.
“Occasionally, she is able to get an imprint of the scene from any natural elements in the room,” Aitri replied.
Then, with one last nod at us, he turned and followed his team into the house.
We were all silent as we flew back to the tower. I had no doubt that the same people who’d killed Harriette were the ones responsible for the device in my sister’s neck.
“I should’ve put the pieces together,” I murmured as the tower came into view. “I should’ve warned Harriette.”
“She had been dead for several days,” Samael said as we landed. “They were tying up loose ends before you knew Evie was a target.”
He was right, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
“Since she’s already dead, I may as well tell you, she was partly responsible for the suppression spell on my power.”
Samael nodded. “I know.”
